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Dry rubber is processed for export at Truong Anh Co in the central province of Quang Tri. About 80 per cent of domestic rubber has been exported to 40 countries and territories. — VNA/VNS Photo Hong Hoa |
HA NOI — Viet Nam exported 383,000 tonnes of rubber during the first eight months of this year, a year-on-year decrease of 10 per cent, according to the General Statistics Office.
However, the export turnover reached more than US$1 billion, a year-on-year rise of 30 per cent due to the 42 per cent increase in the price of exported rubber.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade predicted that the rubber industry would export 780,000 tonnes of rubber this year, equivalent to about $1.45 billion, up 4 per cent in output and 2.3 per cent in value.
Many experts in this field, however, said that 2008’s rubber export turnover could reach $1.7 billion, up 21.6 per cent over last year thanks to favourable price conditions.
During the first week of August, Viet Nam’s export price of rubber increased by $181 per tonne compared to the figure in early July, reaching an average price of $3,012 per tonne.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s report, approximately 80 per cent of domestic rubber has been exported to 40 countries and territories worldwide, including China, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, the US, Japan and Germany.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has also raised targets for rubber exports and plans to expand the market well beyond China, Viet Nam’s largest buyer of unprocessed rubber products
Viet Nam ranks fourth in the world in rubber exports, after Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, but the ministry believes the country can increase the quantity and quality of rubber exports.
The International Rubber Study Group predicted that supply and demand would balance on the international rubber market in 2008, with consumption at 9.84 million tonnes and supply at 9.85 million tonnes.
The fluctuation in price has been largely attributed to the fact that world-leading rubber producers such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have suffered natural calamities. As a result, their outputs have dropped dramatically, while the demand for natural rubber in large markets such as China, the US, Japan, and some European countries has been quite stable.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the slow development of the economy worldwide would markedly affect demand for tyres, causing the price of natural rubber to drop. Most of the world’s rubber is used in tyres.
However, natural rubber prices are predicted to decrease only modestly as rubber storage in some countries with large consumption has dipped sharply due to preciously high prices. The drop in price would likely promote purchases. —